Paul Gadd, aka disgraced pop star Gary Glitter, arrested in connection with Jimmy Savile sex abuse

Paul Gadd, better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, has been arrested as part of the investigation into alleged sex abuse by late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile.

British police took Gadd into custody "on suspicion of sexual offenses" early this morning, the BBC reported.

London's Metropolitan Police, who are leading the Savile inquiry, confirmed to the broadcaster: "The individual [arrested] falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others.'"

It is the first arrest in what the Telegraph calls "one of the biggest child abuse inquiries ever mounted."

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Under the name "Operation Yewtree," police are looking into allegations that Savile abused as many as 300 children and teenagers over 40 years.

Gadd, 68, appeared on several of Savile's BBC shows at the height of his fame as a glam-rock singer in the 1970s and '80s.

In 2006, he was convicted of molesting two pre-teen girls in Vietnam and sentenced to three years in jail. He denied the charges.

He also has a prior conviction in Britain for possessing child pornography.

One of the women who says that Savile abused her has also testified that she once saw Gadd having sex with a schoolgirl in Savile's BBC dressing room.

Karin Ward made the claim in an interview with BBC journalists in 2011 as part of a 'Newsnight' investigation that was never aired. The footage was eventually shown in a different program last week.

According to the Telegraph, at least 60 of the 114 people police have spoken to so far have made allegations against people other than Savile.

Celebrity publicist Max Clifford told the paper that a number of stars from the 1960s and '70s had approached him, "very frightened" at the possibility that they might be implicated.

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